Sierra Leone: Bank liquid reserves to bank assets ratio (%)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2025, Sierra Leone's bank liquid reserves to bank assets ratio (%) fell 6.26 percentage points on 2024 (from 16.36% to 10.1%).

Across the 23 yearly changes before that (2002 to 2024), the average change was −0.09 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 4.31 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.4 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 7.67 percentage points in 2020 and the biggest yearly fall was 9.58 percentage points in 2021. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2016 to 2025 the straight-line trend is downward, about 1.25 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 61% of the movement over 10 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

In 2025, Sierra Leone had the 82nd highest value of the 109 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Sierra Leone in the 2025 ranking

• Burkina Faso — 78th of 109: 10.7%
• Georgia — 79th of 109: 10.6%
• St. Lucia — 80th of 109: 10.2%
• Kenya — 82nd of 109: 10.03%
• Brunei Darussalam — 83rd of 109: 9.58%
• Timor-Leste — 84th of 109: 9.54%

What this measures

Ratio of bank liquid reserves to bank assets is the ratio of domestic currency holdings and deposits with the monetary authorities to claims on other governments, nonfinancial public enterprises, the private sector, and other banking institutions. This indicator is expressed as a percentage (a÷b)*100.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a median.

All 25 values

Bank liquid reserves to bank assets ratio (%) in nearby economies

• Angola — 36.53% (2025)
• Benin — 6.48% (2025)
• Botswana — 5.18% (2025)
• Burkina Faso — 10.7% (2025)
• Burundi — 13.96% (2025)
• Cabo Verde — 44.54% (2025)
• Cameroon — 22.79% (2019)
• Central African Republic — 12.22% (2022)
• Chad — 15.45% (2021)
• Comoros — 47.03% (2024)

More financial sector data for Sierra Leone

• Domestic credit to private sector by banks (% of GDP) — 5.48% (2025)
• Net domestic credit (current LCU) — 41.83 billion (2025)
• Net foreign assets (current LCU) — 417.37 million (2025)
• Monetary sector credit to private sector (% of GDP) — 5.5% (2025)
• Broad money (current LCU) — 38.15 billion (2025)
• Broad money (% of GDP) — 22.56% (2025)
• Claims on central government, etc. (% of GDP) — 19.17% (2025)
• Domestic credit to private sector (% of GDP) — 5.5% (2025)
• GDP deflator (base year varies by country) — 249 (2025)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Sierra Leone's bank liquid reserves to bank assets ratio (%)?

10.1% in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2001?

It is down 8.35 percentage points from 18.45% in 2001. The highest value was 26.28% in 2020 and the lowest 9.07% in 2011.

How does Sierra Leone rank?

82nd highest of 109 economies with data for 2025.

Is the latest change in bank liquid reserves to bank assets ratio (%) unusual for Sierra Leone?

In 2025, Sierra Leone's bank liquid reserves to bank assets ratio (%) fell 6.26 percentage points on 2024 (from 16.36% to 10.1%). Across the 23 yearly changes before that (2002 to 2024), the average change was −0.09 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 4.31 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.4 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator FD.RES.LIQU.AS.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: International Financial Statistics database, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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